Frank and Frances Alioto purchased the 9,500 square foot Pacific Heights house at 2898 Vallejo Street in 1973 for $225,000 following its use in the filming of The Towering Inferno, serving as the mansion for Richard Chamberlain’s character Roger Simmons, the cheapskate electrical engineer who cut corners and was to blame for the tower’s fire.
Frank passed away in 1994. And with Frances’ passing this past November, the estate is now bringing the five-bedroom Beaux-Arts home with five full baths and a five car garage to the market for $16,500,000.
With a tax basis of $439,219, the total property tax bill for 2898 Vallejo was $5,205 in 2011. A sale at asking would likely increase the annual bill to around $193,000.

I was wondering when this would come for sale… It’s a grand looking home, almost the twin of the Japanese consulate at 2700 Vallejo. It was also really similar in style to 2900 Vallejo until that house was weirdly mutilated in various remodels over the years. I think the only drawback here is the house below blocks direct views of the bay from the first floor, so you only have angled views of the bridge. I look forward to seeing this painted in a more subtle color and I probably won’t miss the puti.

If that is seriously the listing price… just wow, lol.
There seems to be this odd thought process among sellers and questionable agents on the high end that a house can be listed at $10M or $17M… you know, all the same.
Ummm, no. Expect this to sit until they get real.

I don’t think 16.5 is a bad price… There are lots of comps to justify the price tag. 2636 Vallejo sold for almost 14… 3700 Washington sold for 17.5 at over 4k per foot.. Even 2100 Vallejo finally sold for 11 at about 2k per foot according to public records. This is more impressive home on a really lovely block; unfortunately, it probably has tons of deferred maintenance.